Project Summary We seek funding for the highly successful Red Cells Gordon Research Conference (GRC), ongoing since 1979, and the accompanying Gordon Research Seminars (GRS) for trainees, initiated in 2013. The Red Cells GRC is an international forum for presentation and discussion of cutting edge research between a diverse group of investigators from academe, government, and industry with expertise ranging from novice trainees to expert leaders in the field. The GRS, organized by and for young investigators and trainees, creates a unique environment for presentation of research, fostering interactions between trainees and established investigators, and providing mentorship and career development guidance. The conferences provide a relaxed, collegial venue to unite diverse investigators working on all aspects of erythrocyte biology, from basic science to translational research on blood disorders. The upcoming Red Cells GRS/GRC meetings will occur July 13-14 and July 14-19, 2019, respectively, at the Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, located about 80 miles from Boston?s international airport. The Red Cells GRC has consistently been a venue for innovative, cutting edge research. Fostered by the informal GRC setting that promotes social and intellectual interactions between attendees with no requirement for abstracts, unpublished data that prove to be transformative are often presented for the first time. Topics to be addressed at the 2019 meeting include developmental erythropoiesis highlighting the use of ES cells, iPS cells and primary hematopoietic progenitor/stem cells, advances in erythroid maturation and terminal erythroid differentiation, advances in iron and heme biology, synthesis of ?big data? from erythroid cells into meaningful gene networks, new findings in malaria-erythrocyte interactions, and malaria and Babesia genetics, progress in therapeutic strategies to treat diseases of the erythrocyte, updates in membrane biology, physiology, and metabolism, the interface between gene regulation, cell cycle, erythroid development, and recent advances in mechanistic understanding of erythrocyte disorders. A distinguished speaker will give a keynote address providing a historical overview of the field. The Red Cells GRS will occur over 1.5 days prior to the GRC and include short talks and poster sessions by postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, a keynote address, and workshops on mentoring and career development from successful scientists and physician- scientists from academia, industry, and government. Selected trainee talks will be presented at the subsequent GRC. Overall, the Red Cells GRS/GRC serves many important missions of the NIH, including promotion of health-related research that will improve our understanding of blood disorders which lead to improved diagnosis, treatment, and prevention; and enhancing the pipeline of new biomedical investigators through support, encouragement, and exposure to outstanding scientific research.